Wrench



Olit-- 15, 1940. G. w. HAMxL'II'QN x-:r A1. 2,218,313

WRENGHv Filed Dec. 1o. 1 937 Patented Oct. 15, 1940 UNITED FFICE LWRENCH Application December l0, 1937, Serial No. 179,145

1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in wrenches and has for itsprincipal object the provision of a tool suitable for entirelyencircling and clamping an article whereby it may be forcibly moved toor from a predetermined position.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a wrench comprisinga relatively thin body portion with a transverse opening formedtherethrough for the reception of an article to be clamped, and a jawslidably mounted in said body portion movable to vary the size of saidopening and to engage the article positioned therein.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a wrench havingthe engaging portion thereof arcuate to facilitate the engagement ofvnuts, or similar articles, positioned on planar surfaces.

Other objects are sturdiness of construction, and ease of operation.With these and other objects in View, which will appear during thecourse of the specification, reference will now be had to the drawingwherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a this invention.

Fig. 2 is an edge View of said wrench.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of said Wrench partially broken away with certainof the parts shown in dotted lines to indicate the open position of theclamping jaw.

Fig. 4 is a cross section taken on line IV-IV of Fig. 1, and,

Fig. 5 is an irregular cross sectional view taken on line V-V of Fig. l.

Throughout the several views, like reference characters refer to similarparts and the numeral IU designates a body portion, preferably elongatedand tapered to present a narrow end portion l2 for convenience inpositioning the wrench, where other objects might prevent the insertionof a broader tool.

This body portion is relatively thin as indicated, and is provided atits narrowed end portion with an opening lli, having parallel side WallsI6 interconnected at their outer ends by a substantially V-shaped WallI8. To facilitate proper gripping, wall I8 is provided with teeth 20.

The inner portion 22 of body l (i is thicker than the outer portionthereof and is provided with a wrench embodying longitudinal opening 25,the side walls of which are extensions of the side wall l5 of openinglli. This opening is adapted to receive a jaw 26 which is longitudinallymovable therein. The outer end of jaw 26 is preferably provided with ashallow V-shaped cavity 28 having teeth 30.

The inner end of said jaw is transversely notched at 32 to receive theoperating end 311 of hand lever 3S which is pivoted at 38 to one side ofthe longitudinal axis of said body portion.

This hand lever 35, together with the stationary hand grip lib, which isintegral with said body portion, serves as a convenient means wherebythe wrench may be manipulated and the jaw 26 moved to securely clamp anyarticle positionedy in opening i4.

It will be noted that by means of this particular type of hand grip andlever, the body portion of the wrench is definitely under control, alsothe jaw 26 may be easily moved in either direction.

To make it more convenient for the operator to manipulate the wrenchwhen the article to be gripped is positioned on a substantially planarsurface, for example the fittings on a battery terminal post, vthe bodyis preferably arcuate, as clearly shown in Fig. 4. Also the jaw iscorrespondingly curved. It is very evident that the degree of curvaturemight be varied through any reasonable range of radii. Referring toopening It which vmay be varied by simply moving the jaw 26, asdescribed above, it will be noted that the opening produced when the jawis retracted, is substantially hexagonal in shape.

When an article of circular cross section is being gripped, it will beobserved that the jaw end structure and wall i8 will cooperate to engagesaid circular area at four-points thereby producing an effectualgripping contact Without undue injury to the article.

The positioning of jaw 26 within the opening 24 with its side wallsbearing against walls I6, presents an extremely eicient movable jaw dueto the fact that it is deiinitely held against movement relative to thebody portion. Theinner end of opening 2 4 is closed by means of a springclip 42 having detents M, Awhich are adapted to be snapped into positionto engage openings 46.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:A

A Wrench comprising a unitary body member having a longitudinally curvedrelatively thin outer portion with a work receiving opening, having itsopposite longitudinally curved side walls in parallel relation, formedtransversely therethrough; a relatively thick central portion or saidbody member having a longitudinally curved hole formed therethrough withits llongi- Work receiving opening to vary the area thereof.

GLEN W. HAM'ILTON. VINTON H. ROWLET'IA'Y.

